Portlaoise 0-8 Crossmaglen Rangers 0-7
2005 All Ireland Club SFC semi-final
Last weekend saw the All-Ireland club football semi-finals take place and they were certainly two very interesting games.
Reigning champions Corofin of Galway defeated Donegal side Gweedore while Kerry giants Dr Crokes got the better of rural Longford club Mullinalaghta.
The novelty of the fixtures bring up memories of one of the great Laois club wins of all time – when Portlaoise beat then three-time All Ireland winners Crossmaglen Rangers in a gripping contest in Parnell Park this weekend 14 years ago.
Portlaoise won that one 0-8 to 0-7 in a real dogfight of a game to reach the All Ireland final for the first time in 22 years.
It was a Crossmaglen team packed with big names, back-boned by a chunk of Armagh’s 2002 All Ireland-winning side.
Paul Hearty, Francie Bellew, the McEntee brother and Oisin McConville were all playing while Aaron and Stephen Kernan were the rising stars at the time.
But Portlaoise had an exceptional team too and were under the guidance of new manager Tommy Conroy and Niall Tully.
They, too, had a host of intercounty stars including Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ian Fitzgerald, Colm Parkinson and Aidan Fennelly.
Meanwhile Martin Delaney, Laois’s All Ireland minor winning captain in 1996, was back involved having lived in Chicago for a number of years and was man of the match that day from midfield.
Barry Fitzgerald, Cahir Healy, Craig Rogers and the late Peter McNulty were all high-profile Laois underage players at that time.
Portlaoise led 0-5 to 0-4 at half time and despite Crossmaglen dominating possession in the second half, Portlaoise made life hard on the Ulster champions.
Eoin Bland did a wonderful man-marking job on McConville and they withstood a number of late attacks to hold out for an incredibly hard-fought win.
Portlaoise would later lose the All Ireland final by a point to Ballina Stephenites.
Despite dominating the Laois championship over the last decade they have won just one Leinster title since – in 2009 – but that win over Crossmaglen that February Sunday afternoon remains one of the greatest in the club’s history.
PORTLAOISE: Michael Nolan; Tommy Fitzgerald, Colm Byrne, Eoin Bland; Brian Mulligan, Cahir Healy, Aidan Fennelly; Martin Delaney (0-1), Enda Coleman; Brian McCormack, Ian Fitzgerald (0-1), Kevin Fitzpatrick; Peter McNulty (0-5, 4f), Colm Parkinson, Craig Rogers. Sub: Barry Fitzgerald (0-1, f) for Coleman
CROSSMAGLEN: Paul Hearty; John Donaldson, Francie Bellew, C Dooley; Aaron Kernan, Tony McEntee, Gareth O’Neill (0-1); Stephen Clarke, Alan Cunningham; Stephen Kernan, Michael McNamee (0-1), John McEntee (0-2), Oisin McConville (0-3, 3f), Cathal Short, Johnny Murtagh.
SEE ALSO – Remembering the day the Laois hurlers relegated Offaly in 2004
